Tamiya polishing compound

[Jonno]

Next weekend I am off to the hobby shop to buy some Tamiya Polishing Compound which I have never used before.

So how exactly do I use this stuff?
Do I need to buy the fine grit sandpapers and lightly sand the model first?
And any tips of using it?

I did a search but I couldn't find any posts that really answer my questions.

Cheers.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Just put a dab on a soft cloth (an old flannel shirt or cotton diaper is the best), and polish the surface, and buff off the excess. Nothing difficult at all. The hardest part is finding a truly soft cloth.

If the paint is smooth enough, you can get away w/only using the compound. Otherwise you'll need to wetsand the orange peel before polishing. I've found that I can get away w/polishing most clearcoats smooth with 3600 grit (from LMG or Micro Mark or Detail Master polishing kit), and then go directly to polishing compound.

Practice the technique on something less than your "latest and greatest" so that you get the hang of it, and minimize you chances of oversanding/overpolishing the edges. Avoid sanding/polishing the edges.

[hirofkd]

The cloth to clean the eye glasses shouldn't be so hard to find wherever you live, and it's very fine and doesn't scratch the surface.
And I should be the first in this forum to try the new polishing cloth from Hasegawa. I'll post some review as soon as it's released.

[COZMO6476]

i got a polishing cloth from modelcargarage.com for a few bucks. works pretty well IMO.

[kicker1_solo]

and how do you get polishes out of cracks in the car, such as doors and body lines?

[daggerlee]

Toothpick, or something else that's soft and pointy. Don't use an x-acto knife, you might slip and scratch your newly polished paint. :o

[Veyron]

and how do you get polishes out of cracks in the car, such as doors and body lines?

I use a toothbrush made for babies, it has very soft bristles that won't scratch the paint, scrub while under running water.:alien2: